The Nashville Predators (36-28-8) visit the Boston Bruins (57-11-5) Tuesday. Puck drop from TD Garden in Boston is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Predators vs. Bruins odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Predators suffered back-to-back losses in the final 2 games of their 3-game homestand, including a 3-2 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs Sunday. The Preds are just 2-4-1 across the past 7 games and the Under has cashed in 5 of the previous 8 contests.
The Bruins have rattled off 7 straight wins, including a 4-3 shootout victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Sunday. That Over (5.5) result snapped a 3-0 Under run. Boston has also won 4 games in a row at home, last falling at TD Garden to the Edmonton Oilers on March 9.
Boston blanked Nashville 5-0 at Bridgestone Arena in the Music City on Feb. 16, as G Jeremy Swayman stopped all 28 shots he faced in the shutout.
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Predators at Bruins odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:32 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Predators +250 (bet $100 to win $250) | Bruins -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Predators +1.5 (+100) | Bruins -1.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +105 | U: -125)
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Predators at Bruins projected goalies
Juuse Saros (28-20-7, 2.80 GAA, .915 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Linus Ullmark (36-5-1, 1.92 GAA, .937 SV%, 2 SO)
Saros was playing pretty well for most of March, but he was slapped down for 7 goals on 39 shots in a setback against the Seattle Kraken last time out on Saturday. He is still 5-3-2 with a 2.84 GAA and .911 SV% in 11 games in March.
Ullmark has let in just 4 goals on 99 shots across his last 3 starts, all victories. He is 5-1-0 with a 2.17 GAA and .929 SV% in 6 starts in March and has been nearly unbeatable on home ice this season, going 20-1-1 with a 1.70 GAA and .942 SV% in 23 games.
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Predators at Bruins picks and predictions
Prediction
Bruins 4, Predators 2
Moneyline
The Bruins (-300) will cost you 3 times your potential return, and that’s way too much to spend on a single bet. Even if you were to toss the B’s into a multi-team parlay, it would suck all of the value out of your ticket.
AVOID, and look to the puck line instead.
Puck line/Against the spread
The BRUINS -1.5 (-120) are a better play on the puck line. While 3 of the past 4 victories for Boston have been in 1-goal games, it still belted the Preds 5-0 in the first meeting. Boston has won 4 straight meetings overall with Nashville and 9 of the past 11 meetings at TD Garden. The favorite is 19-4 in the past 23 in the series, too.
Boston is also 4-2 on the puck line in its last 6 outings as a favorite. However, Nashville is 6-2 on the puck line in its last 8 as an underdog, so be careful and go with a half-unit play at most.
Over/Under
The UNDER 6.5 (-125) is the best play on the board.
You’ll be going against the series trends, as the Over is 4-0 in the past 4 meetings. However, Ullmark just doesn’t give up anything on home ice, posting that sparkling 1.70 GAA at home this season.
In addition, the Under is 8-3 in the past 11 for the Predators when playing on a single day of rest and is 5-0-1 in the past 6 home games for the Bruins.
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